The Neverland You Never Knew
by TheProfessorAndMaryAnn
Summary: Peter and the Starcatcher FanFiction. After Molly leaves and life in Neverland goes on, the calm, peaceful retreat for the young is disturbed by the arrival of a new young girl. Enter Black Stache.
1. chapter 1

Nova woke up that day to the sound of screaming. She sat up with a start, and immediately her heart rate sped up at what she saw.

She was on the shore of an island. The ocean water around her sparkled as though it had been infused with glitter, but a sizeable pirate ship that sailed just off shore had a large dark cloud looming over it, which seemed to cease the shining of the crystal blue waves completely. She immediately scurried backwards up the beach as fast as she could, as she was still crouching rather than standing and all her limbs ached. Upon further inspection, she could see pirates working up on the deck. Had her sheer confusion not been more prominent than her fear, Nova would have been scared out of her mind. After all, she had no idea how she got to be on this island. All she remembered was mopping the stage in the theatre after the last showing of her high school's production, Peter and the Starcatcher. Suddenly, on of the painted arcs dropped, and she heard someone yell 'heads'!

But she hadn't moved fast enough. She felt partial impact, felt the thud of the stage beneath her, but then Nova blacked out.

Nova began to panic. Where was she? The island looked eerily like what she imagined Peter's island to look like in her school play. It all felt so real, but things like losing consciousness only to wake up in a world that you've dreamt about before only happened in movies- like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz. However, Nova couldn't think of any other explanation besides the possibility that she was now in Peter Pan's world, no matter how unreal and unconsciousness-induced it may be. The world in which Peter met Molly, in which Prentiss and Ted (more affectionately known as Tubby) fought playfully and ran rampant, in which Aster protected his daughter as well as the magical starstuff that was under his watch. In which there were pirates, much like the ones that were the source of the yelling that had woken Nova up, and the ones who inched closer and closer on their ship by the second. However, Nova now found herself too intrigued to move.

She looked to the side of the ship for confirmation of her hunch about her whereabouts. Nova didn't know what she expected, nor what she wanted to see, but there it was: The Wasp was carved and painted over into the side of the ship.

That was the name of the ship owned and run by the most fearsome pirate in the play: Black Stache.

Black Stache and his pirate right-hand-man Smee. Two of the funniest characters in the play, but they also raised some hell for the main good guys. Nova didn't like the looks of that pirate ship so, funny as they may be, she didn't doubt that they were ruthless as in the play- or even more so. Her sense quickly returned to her as the approaching ship came closer still. It wouldn't be more than a minute before it came ashore, and the pirates would find her lost on the beach, certainly looking out of place in the jeans, work boots, and white stretch shirt that she had been wearing at theatre. Who knows what they'd think of her, what they'd do?

She got up as quickly as she could, turned on her heel, and sped off- only to run into somebody. Or rather, somebody's legs. Confused, as soon as she recovered from her slight fall, she looked up to see whose legs she ran in to, and how it was possible to run into someone's legs without running into any other part of them.

Looking up, she saw a boy floating in midair. Normally, she would wonder how something like that is possible. But it made just as much sense as anything else in this place.

Nova gaped at the boy above her. She knew immediately that it was Peter, for he looked exactly like the boy who played him in the school production. He was sitting criss-cross with his hands on his knees, bobbing up and down slightly as though there was water beneath him. He looked to Nova like a genie with an invisible carpet, the way he was sitting.

"Who're you?" Peter spoke, his eyebrows bunching together as he looked her over, no doubt wondering what she was doing on his beach. When Nova gave no response, Peter rolled his eyes. She then remembered that he was significantly angrier in the play than he was in the more iconic movie. "You might want to get out of here unless you want to be Black Stache's newest pirate recruit. Trust me, it's not the 'little swash, bit of buckle' that he'll promise you it is." Nova nearly smiled at the quote that came straight from the script.

"I'm Nova." She told him. Peter nodded slowly, hesitantly like there was something about her he didn't like.

"Nova? Like, the stars?" Peter loved the stars. Nova nodded, wondering how Peter knew about the stars' connection to the word 'Nova'. He was supposed to be an uneducated (former) orphan in the play. "I knew a girl who loved the stars once. Her name was Molly. But you're not Molly." His voice lowered at the end of the sentence. I get it, Nova thought. He's still bitter that Molly left him. He doesn't want another girl on his island.

"Oh Peter?" A familiar man's voice rang out and caused both Peter and Nova to turn around.

"Stache." Peter growled. Nova looked and indeed saw Black Stache, also looking just as he was portrayed in the school play version, striding up the beach in an overconfident way. Even though this was Peter's island, Black Stache acted as though he owned the place.

"Good to see you, Boy." Stache sneered. "I see another girl has found her way to your island. Mind if I steal her from you- quite literally?" Peter folded his arms in defiance.

"Of course I mind!" Nova was taken aback by the fact that Peter defended her.

"Who is she?" Black Stache asked. "Another Molly?" Peter's arms fell limply by his sides and his eyes flashed with hurt- he was obviously caught off guard by Stache's remark, and Black Stache knew it; he did it on purpose.

"No, she's not!" Peter yelled angrily.

Black Stache smirked. "If she's not Molly, then this girl means nothing to you? Surely you can't be replacing your Molly already, Pan?" Peter shook his head furiously, dropping to the ground quickly and landing swiftly on his two feet.

"No! No, she means nothing! She's not Molly!" Peter suddenly turned on her, as if someone had flicked a switch inside of him. Molly was obviously a sore subject for him.

"Now, wait a minute-" Nova tried to interject, but was interrupted.

"Quiet, girl!" Black Stache snapped, shutting Nova up immediately. "You've made your bed, Pan, have fun living with yourself. She may not be Molly but you just gave up an innocent soul to the most vicious pirate on the seven seas. Why, I'm almost proud." He cackled like a witch before grabbing Nova by the arm, twisting it around her back and leading her to the wasp.

Peter seethed as Stache took her away, but it was soon replaced by guilt. Out of anger, out of what he felt for Molly, he had given up a person, a girl- to Black Stache no less! However, it was too late, for as much as Nova struggled, the tall and lanky but strong Black Stache held her tightly by the arm and forced her to board the ship. Peter panicked, and he turned and fled. The girl needed help, and she needed it now.

Aboard the ship, the deck was deserted, empty of pirates with the exception of Smee. Black Stache grinned at him triumphantly.

"I've been fishing, Smee, and I've caught a girl!" He cried. Smee laughed along with his captain. "Peter gave her up, threw her to me like a bone to a dog. Aster's girl was wrong, he really doesn't care about anything other than saving his own neck!"

Smee beamed back at Stache. "The Stache is cunning, the Stache is beguiling, the Stache is supreme!" He cheered.

"Yes, Smee, thank you, I know." Black Stache waved Smee off. "Tell me, do we have an open cell down below?" Smee nodded eagerly.

"Yes, sir!" Stache nodded.

"Very good, I'll take her down now. I promise to give the crew all the details later- they're quite evil!" He sang the last part in an amused fashion. "Come on, girl." He pushed Nova ahead of him and they walked down a long and creaky wooden staircase until they reached what Nova concluded had to be the very last floor of the Wasp. She didn't think it was possible to go down any further. "You don't speak much, do you, girl?"

Nova didn't know how to reply to that. Black Stache rolled his eyes, much like Peter had done when Nova had denied him an answer.

"I..." She trembled before Black Stache, although he was not too scary. It was the situation and the overwhelmedeness that was getting to her.

Black Stache pushed her into the room, a room with wooden walls and floors to match the rest of the ship. In the room there was a bucket, which Nova hoped was for a purpose other than what came to mind first, a bench, and a small window that surprisingly didn't go beneath the water. It was placed just barely above the surface of the water, and ever so often water would splash in and seep through the cracks in the wood.

"What, Stache got your tongue? No matter, I'll be back soon." He went silent and surveyed Nova for a moment, before he walked closer to her, stepped slowly so that each footfall of his shiny dark shoes echoed around the empty space. "We're going to have some fun." Nova's eyes widened; she didn't want to know what he meant by that. "TTFN!" With that, Black Stache turned on his heel and left the room, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

Meanwhile on another part of the island, Peter hurriedly shifted through a bag of his things. Normally he took pride in his messy hideout that he shared with Prentiss and Ted, but today he wished it was neater so that he could find just what he was looking for. Finally, he lifted up a golden locket and sighed in relief.

"What's that, Peter?" Ted asked, looking at the locket only for a moment before he returned his attention to the sticky pudding he and Prentiss were attempting to share. "How's that gonna help that girl you found?"

"It looks just like Molly's." Prentiss observed.

"It is just like her's." Peter confirmed. "Tink helped me enchant an old necklace that washed up on the beach with some of her starstuff. It'll let me talk to Molly- I need her help."

He held the locket in the palm of his hand, and both Prentiss and Ted watched intently as it began to glow a familiar golden color...


	2. 2

Molly shook her head as she listened to Peter hurriedly explain the things he had done, how he had let his temper get the best of him- again.

"Peter, how could you do this? I'm dissapointed in you." Peter stared down at the ground and sighed. Molly was right, but he hated when she scolded him like that. She sounded like a mother, and Peter found many things wrong with that. Firstly, she may have been a mother to Prentiss or Ted, but she was something different and special to Peter. And second, Peter just plain hated being chided like that.

"It was Black Stache's fault!" Peter cried. "Besides, I'll get her back somehow. I'll go find the Wasp right now!" He got up to leave, but Molly's voice halted him. Prentiss and Ted, who had Tinkerbell sitting on his shoulder, sat in the back of the room and watched the scene play out.

"Peter, don't." Molly said sternly. "Your temper got you into this mess, no doubt if you confront Black Stache you'll just make it worse." Peter mumbled a few incoherent words in frustration. Molly was right, but he would never admit it. He did have a bad temper.

"Then what do I do?!" He huffed, crossing his arms. There was a long silence.

"I'll be there to help you soon." She said finally. "I'll bring father and we will work to sort this out. I'll see you soon, Peter." Prentiss and Teds' eyes lit up, and they stood so suddenly that Tinkerbell tumbled off of Ted's shoulder and towards the ground before she caught herself.

"Mother's coming?!" They asked excitedly in unison.

"Yeah, I just wish it wasn't because of a mess I made." Peter replied quietly.

"What do we do now?" Ted asked, not so much because he wanted to help the girl, but more because he was bored just sitting around the 'hideout' playing with Tinkerbell.

"Yeah." Prentiss chimed in. "I know Molly said to wait for her, but we can't just sit here."

Peter stood up straight and put the locket around his neck. "You're right, Prentiss!" He said. "We can't just sit around and wait for Molly. If we go find the girl at least, if we can look through the portholes in the ship, then we can find out where she is and that'll be a start!"

"Yeah!" Prentiss and Ted cheered. Tinkerbell darted around the room, matching the excitement of the three Lost Boys.

"Mother will be so proud of us!" Ted grinned. "Let's do it." Peter nodded, put on his green hat with the red feather, and led the way out of the hideout. The three ran down the beach, and Peter shielded his eyes from the sun, searching the horizon for The Wasp. He spotted it just as it was about to dissappear around the corner of one of the big mountains on the island. Peter quickly thought about it and tried to figure out Stache's destination.

"Skull Rock!" He yelled suddenly. "They're passing Mermaid Cove, they'll be docking at Skull Rock. Let's go!" They waited for Tinkerbell to sprinkle her starstuff on them and soon they took to the air, quickly gaining on Black Stache's ship.

"How do we find the girl?" Ted asked. Peter folded his arms in determination.

"We'll check every porthole in the bottom level of the ship until we find her." He concluded.

"Good idea, Peter." Prentiss agreed. "He probably put her in one of the cell rooms down below."

"Right."

"Let's go!" Ted cheered, dipping down towards the bottom of The Wasp eagerly to begin searching. Peter and Prentiss soon followed suit.

Minutes went by, and they had not found Nova. Prentiss and Ted were having more trouble because they had never seen her and could only go off of Peter's description.

Peter hovered just above the water, moving up and down slightly in time with the waves so that they barely missed splashing his dangling feet. He peered into the very last unchecked porthole, crossing his fingers, hoping that Nova would be there. If Black Stache hadn't put her in one of the prisoners' rooms, if perhaps another fate had befallen Nova, then it would be all his fault.

He sighed in relief as he saw her standing there. Nova was staring crestfallen at the closed door, completely still as though she were a statue.

"What are you doing?" He asked simply, forgetting the circumstances. Nova jumped and whirled around, and stared at Peter with wide eyes.

"You!" She said accusingly. Peter immediately began to apologize profusely.

"Look Nova, I'm sorry." Nova held up a hand slightly to stop him.

"First of all, Peter-" She began, realizing too late that she may have made a mistake in letting his name slip.

"Wait, how do you know my name?" Peter asked as his face contorted in a questioning way. Nova bit her lip, mentally cursing herself for the slip-up and trying to think of a way out of it.

"Um...that pirate called you Peter back when you let him take me." She said, hiding her relief at her cover up with an accusation aimed at Peter.

"That's Black Stache. I'm sorry that I let him take you, but he..." Peter trailed off, looking anywhere but at Nova.

"But he brought up a sore subject?" Nova concluded. Peter nodded.

Prentiss and Ted suddenly pushed Peter away from the porthole, having heard the entire conversation.

"He brought up Molly!" They teased in unison.

"Molly is a girl who was here before you." Prentiss exclaimed. Peter glared at him, shoving him angrily so that he could retake his place by the porthole.

"Shut it, Prentiss!" Peter growled. Ted leaned into the porthole and rested his elbows on the rim of it. While Peter and Prentiss were busy fighting, Ted took the chance to talk to Nova one on one.

"Hi, girl!" He said, goofily hanging over the side of the semi-large porthole as far as his upper-half would allow.

Nova, although startled, couldn't help but be interested by this seemingly friendly boy. She returned his toothy smiled and said, "Hello."

"What's your name?" Ted asked innocently.

"Nova. What's yours?"

Ted smiled proudly, hoping to be friends with this new girl. "I'm Ted! But you can call me Teddy. Or even T, if you like! Just anything but Tubby." Nova laughed slightly.

"Get away from the window, Tubby." Ted grimaced at Peter's snide use of the name, but he backed away from the porthole regardless. "Anyway, Nova-"

"Oh girl!" A familiar singsong voice sounded on the other side of the door. Nova gasped but didn't move.

"Oh no, we've gotta go guys!" Peter whispered harshly to Prentiss and Ted. Without even a word of goodbye to Nova, they flew off, leaving her there helpless to Black Stache.

The door swung open and Black Stache entered slowly, watching Nova as she stood utterly still by the porthole. He edged closer to her, and she didn't dare move.

"So, girl..." Black Stache stared expectantly at her, waiting for her to answer his unasked question. When he got no response other than a confused look from Nova, he rolled his eyes and threw up his hands slightly in defeat. "I'm not going to go on calling you 'girl' forever." He said matter-of-factly.

"My name is Nova." Nova told him quietly. Stache grinned.

"Well then, Nova...let's talk."


	3. 3

"Talk?" Nova asked meekly. Black Stache strode over to the bench that was pressed against the wall and sat down, crossing his legs and patting the spot next to him. "Sit." He instructed her. She didn't move. He narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice before repeating himself. "I said sit."

Nova had no choice but to take a seat near Black Stache as he glared at her with a smirk on his face. She sat down on the farthest edge of the bench that she could. Nova could hear Tinkerbell's twinkling noises getting further and further away; Peter and the boys didn't dare stick around and risk getting caught. Nova was now truly alone with Black Stache.

"What are we going to talk about?" Nova ventured, and Black Stache, pleased to have gotten a response, smiled.

"My favorite subject is most often myself, but I'd like to know just how you got to Peter's island. Who are you, and why are you here?" Nova was perhaps too nervous to construct another lie, so she decided to tell Black Stache more of a half-truth.

"My name is Nova, and I have no idea how I got here. I woke up this morning and I was on the beach." Black Stache went silent for several minutes squinting at Nova, who was very uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Black Stache burst out laughing.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" He continued to chuckle in amusement while Nova remained completely silent. "Come on now, tell me the truth. I know what you are, another girl come to help Peter get his hands on more starstuff! Why else would I have captured you?" Nova's eyes widened at the prospect. She wasn't a starcatcher, not even half of one- she wasn't anything of the sort.

"That is the truth!" She defended. Black Stache stood suddenly, towering over Nova as she shrunk back in fear.

"No one raises their voice at Black Stache!" He roared, inches away from her face. "You have a place, girl, and you need to know it! Is. That. Understood?!" Black Stache reverted to her old name of 'Girl', and all Nova could do was nod. He grabbed her arm, causing goosebumps to raise up on her skin. He was so close to her face that Nova could feel the edges of his mustache touching the tip of her nose, and she could see almost nothing except for his brown eyes boring into hers. She felt very conflicted, because although this looked like the same hilarious and (sometimes) friendly student who played Black Stache in the highschool's production, this wasn't the same person. But they seemed the same at times, and that confused Nova greatly. He turned on his heel and left the room without a word, slamming the door behind him.

Black Stache stormed up the stairs, muttering angrily to himself.

"Smee!" He yelled.

"Yes sir?" Smee popped out from behind a corner. Stache jumped slightly and grimaced.

"Don't do that, Smee." Black Stache chided. Smee hung his head in shame.

"Sorry sir...stupid Smee, stupid..." He blubbered. Black Stache rolled his eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"Quiet, Smee, I need your advice." Black Stache twirled his mustache absentmindedly as the two walked along the deck, the boards of the wooden Wasp creaking with their every step. Stache stopped to breath in the splendid salty air, clearing his mind of everything but that girl and Peter Pan. "Pop quiz, Smee: how might one go about getting information from an insufferable and insistent little lady like the one we have downstairs?" Smee thought long and hard, leaning over the deck and watching the waves as he did so.

When he finally came to a conclusion, he shouted "Aha!" Smee was so excited at the prospect of pleasing Black Stache with a sufficient answer that he nearly fell overboard as he jumped in celebration.

"Smee, you fool!" Black Stache shouted in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air. "Give me an answer without going deep sea diving, will you?" Smee apologized meekly once more. "Nevermind that, do you have an answer?" Smee nodded, eager to redeem himself.

"You force the answer out of her!" Smee cheered, as though the subject were a much lighter one than torturous interrogation.

"And what is my favorite method of doing so?" Black Stache inquired, just to humor himself.

"Swords!" Smee cried.

"Yes, Smee, you're absolutely right!" Black Stache cheered along with his shipmate. "When she sees my sword she'll be giving me answers to questions that I have yet to ask!" Black Stache laughed as he walked away, grabbing his trusty sword from his cabin before rushing down the stairs again. He stood outside the door and listened for the usual sounds that came from most of the cells: crying, begging, even screaming in the most severe cases. But he didn't hear any of those things- and what he did hear surprised him greatly.

Whispering.

On the other side of the door, Nova was once again talking to Peter and the boys. Peter had his head through the porthole while Ted and Prentiss hovered behind him, listening in on the conversation.

"Is there any way for you to get out?" Peter whispered, aware of the possibility that Black Stache might be listening.

"No!" Nova replied, being a little more careless with her volume level. "He locks the door every time he leaves. There's nothing I can do." Peter groaned in frustration.

"Hopefully Mother will be here soon!" Ted yelled to Nova, a little too loudly. Suddenly, the door burst open, and there stood an infuriated Black Stache. Peter and the boys flew out of the line of sight from the porthole immediately.

"Who were you talking to?" He demanded. Nova was at a loss for words, until she remembered a line from the script of the play.

"The porpoises!" She answered, trying not to appear too relieved that she came up with a sufficient lie. Black Stache immediately marched over the the porthole, and Nova held her breath.

Peter and the boys avoided being seen by crowding around the curved bottom of the ship, just above the water and where Black Stache couldn't see them.

"What porpoises? I don't see any porpoises!" Nova winced as she did every time the pirate raised his voice.

"They're gone now." She reasoned. Black Stache walked over to her and backed her up against the wall.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time to answer my question and answer it truthfully. How did you get here?" Nova was about to insist that she had told the truth again, but Black Stache stopped her before she could even utter one word. "And don't you dare repeat what you told me earlier, or you'll regret it, Nova."

"What do you mean, why would I regret it?" Nova asked, almost certain that she didn't want to know the answer. Black Stache said nothing, he only pulled his sword out from the sheath in his belt. At least, to him it looked like a sword. To Nova, it appeared to be something entirely different- it looked just like the plunger that they had used in her school play.

"What are you going to do?" She replied snarkily without thinking. "Bludgeon me with it?" Black Stache was taken aback and, perhaps with the same amount of thought, swiped the sword across her face like a slap, then slashed her arm in one swift movement. Nova was surprised by the stinging sensation, and even more so when she reached up and her hand became partially coated in a sticky dark red substance. That plunger cut like a real sword. Black Stache looked remorseful for a split second, or maybe it was Nova's imagination. But soon his hard exterior was recovered, and his air of authority was back.

"No, that's what I'll do with it." He said in a low voice. Nova trembled slightly, now deciding she was willing to comply.

"I was somewhere else entirely," She began, without being prompted to do so. Black Stache sat down and leaned back on the bench, very pleased with himself. "I was at school. We were doing a play called Peter and the Starcatcher. This is just a play! You're all characters, and now I'm in the world of the play. I was mopping the stage when something fell on me and I blacked out, and when I woke up I was on the beach!"

"How stupid do you think I am?!" Stache roared, raising the sword to deliver another blow.

"Wait, please!" Nova cried, immediately burying her face in her arms to shield herself. She couldn't see Black Stache's reaction to her sudden helplessness, but she was aware that he never brought the sword down upon her after her plea, so she peered out from under her arms at him. He still looked mad, but there was something in his eyes and expression that she couldn't place. "I can prove it." She whispered in a quivering voice.

"Go on, then. Tell me something that Peter or one of the boys couldn't have told you." Black Stache replied in a low but quiet voice. Nova tried her best to remember something that happened in a scene that didn't include Peter and the boys.

"The story you told your crew." She began in a raspy, scared whisper. "The ending...it went something like...'and the baby, had a big bushy handlebar, and he lived awfully ever after'." Black Stache seemed surprised.

"If that's the only explanation that you can offer, then I suppose it will suffice...for now."

Nova's heart rate refused to slow as Stache took a step away from her. He observed the scared girl cowering before him, but was strangely missing the sense of pride he normally felt when he proved to a prisoner that he was boss.

"I'll have Smee bring you some bandages." He said, finding it strenuous to keep an apologetic tone from seeping into his voice. Black Stache certainly didn't apologize! Not to anybody, even girls- not that he'd met any but Molly and Nova.

Nova was relieved, but her relief was soon cut short. She spotted Peter out the window, looking surprised and dangerously close to Black Stache's line of sight if he were to turn around. Before Nova could distract Black Stache, though, he turned to leave the room and instead came face-to-face with Peter.

"Pan!"


	4. 4

One look at the scene and Nova knew that it wouldn't end well. Peter could easily fly away whenever he chose to do so, but knowing him, he'd likely stay and pick a fight. Thankfully, he had the good sense to get out of the porthole and out of Black Stache's reach.

"Hello, Stache." Peter replied, glaring at his nemesis. "Let her go!" He demanded boldy, only to have Black Stache laugh in his face.

"You've got some nerve, Pan." Black Stache crossed his arms and stood in front of Nova. "She belongs to me now, until I have no use for her anymore, and no suspicions that your little friendship is related to starstuff."

"That's ridiculous!" Peter argued. "You can't just take her! Look, you hurt her!" The flow of blood from Nova's cuts, which were unintentionally deep, continued to steadily increase.

"But I can, and I have. The Stache takes what he wants when he wants it- don't you forget that, Peter." Black Stache strode over to the porthole, making fiery eye contact with Peter. He lowered his voice and leaned over the edge of the porthole. "And if memory serves, a certain someone gave me complete permission to take her." Peter looked to Nova, who wouldn't look at him. His hurt expression was soon replaced with the normal passionate anger that was granted by his short temper.

"That wasn't my fault!" Peter yelled, as Prentiss and Ted tried to pull him away from the porthole.

"Peter, let's go..." Ted whispered, not wanting to let Peter's anger get him in another worse situation.

"No!"

"If you knew what was good for you, Pan, you would leave." Black Stache stood his ground, as an infuriated Peter proved to be no match for a very calm and momentarily level-headed Black Stache.

"Peter, go." Nova said quietly, her sudden interjection surprising everybody.

"But-"

"You standing here and arguing with him isn't going to resolve anything. The more you argue the less he'll want to give me up. It's better if you go." After the slight shock wore off, Black Stache turned to Peter with a triumphant smirk on his face. Peter turned and left and Nova said no more- she oddly felt it wasn't her place to, even though it was technically her fate that they were discussing.

"Well, I'll be damned. You talked some sense into that boy!" Stache laughed amusedly to himself. He turned around to see Nova looking down at the ground, tear tracks evident down her cheeks. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I'll get the bandages." He muttered, leaving the room quickly.

Any pirates he passed along the way to the deck quickly cowered away in fear. It felt like they were the restoration he needed to feel scary again in the moment. It was all he could do to remind himself that he was a ruthless pirate, despised by all and afraid of no one. He was not someone who felt any sort of remorse for anything, not even leaving only the second girl he'd ever met alone in a room crying after he'd just cut her with his sword.

"Smee?" He called out to his shipmate. "Smee?!" He groaned audibly in frustration as he failed to find Smee. That meant he'd have to go back and bandage her himself. Normally he wouldn't give a damn if one of his prisoners was bleeding out in a cell, if they were dying down there- he could count on his fingers the number of times he'd told Pan to die. But as much as he was unwilling to admit it, Nova was different than a prisoner in a way that he hadn't quite figured out yet, and he didn't want her to die down there. So he begrudgingly grabbed the bandages that he had handy and made his way back downstairs.

Nova had not moved since he had last been in the room. Stache noticed that in his haste to leave he had foolishly forgotten to lock the door. She was staring right at it, and she must have noticed, yet Nova had made no effort to escape. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why, who wouldn't make an effort to Black Stache? And yet here she was.

"You're bleeding." Black Stache said matter-of-factly, for lack of a better conversation starter. "I brought bandages. I went looking for Smee so I could make him do this for me, but who knows where that incompetent being got to. So unfortunately, I'll have to do this myself." He picked up a stray rag and reached out the porthole, dipping it in the water. "This will sting, but it's all I have and I'm not bothering to find clean water." He said, purposely stressing his displeasure at the situation. He bent down so that he was eye level with Nova and shuffled around uncomfortably until he found a way to start. He dabbed first at the cut on her arm, and she flinched upon impact, squeezing her eyes shut as the unbearable stinging sensation spread across the length of her cut. She tried to focus on anything but the pain, or the certain pirate inches away from her tending to her 'wounds'. His unexpectedly light touch made goosebumps spread across her skin just as they had the last time.

The blood was soon washed away and the lengthy cut was revealed. Black Stache slowly wrapped the bandages around her arm, grimacing all the while. No matter what his thoughts on Nova were, this little scene, although unseen by anyone but the two it involved, was destroying his rough and tough personality and quite frankly, he couldn't stand it.

He finished bandaging her arm and moved on to her sliced cheek. He cleared his throat, reaching up to brush away a few strands of dark brown hair that had been matted with blood to the cut. He looked into her eyes momentarily; they were free of tears, unlike earlier. But they were red-rimmed and wide, although unmistakably tired, with faint bags underneath. Black Stache looked away, focusing on her cut once more. He brushed his thumb over it absentmindedly a few times, unaware of what he was doing until Nova winced and he suddenly realized. Stache repeatedly wiped the blood away in swift movements, until her face was mostly clear of the substance.

Black Stache unraveled the bandages and placed it over the cut on her cheek that, although slightly less lengthy than the one on her forearm, stretched from her chin to the side of her nose. Nova sincerely hoped it didn't scar. He stood back up as soon as he was finished and left the room promptly.

Black Stache had given Nova no notion of this, but he planned on returning soon, and with a blanket and pillow for her as well. Normally he wasn't so nice to prisoners, but he hadn't treated her like a normal prisoner at all thus far, save for him inflicting damage to her by way of his sword. He would be bringing her this to keep her warm and somewhat healthy. After all, his efforts to clean up her cuts would be wasted if she was hurt in some other way. There, that's all it is He told himself. That's the only reason.

Black Stache was finally able to locate Smee after minutes of wandering around the ship.

"Captain, there you are!" Smee exclaimed, running up to Black Stache in a clumsy manner. "Where have you been?"

"That's none of your buisness, Smee." Black Stache replied sternly.

"Sorry, sir." Smee apologized. "It's just that the whole crew has noticed your absence."

"Well I trust you to keep them in order for me then Smee. If you must know, and feel free to pass this on to the crew, I have been busy being delightfully evil to the new prisoner! Earlier today, I struck her twice with my sword!" He puffed out his chest as he shouted triumphantly. Smee clapped for his captain. Black Stache wasn't lying completely, he knew, but his pride felt almost fake. Thankfully, Smee wasn't the brightest sword in the sheath and he didn't notice his captain's faltering confidence. "Fetch me two thick blankets and two pillows, and don't ask why." Smee did as he was told and soon Black Stache had bid him goodnight and was on his way to Nova's room for the last time that evening.

When he got there, he found Nova sprawled out on the floor asleep, looking as though she had previously been staring up at the ceiling. Black Stache instinctively bent down and felt her wrist, her skin was cold and her pulse steady. Black Stache spread one of the blankets over Nova and lifted her head, sliding the pillow underneath it and moving her hair gently out of the way. He was only doing it so that his previous efforts weren't wasted- at least, that's what he kept repeating in his mind.

It suddenly occured to him that he had gotten two blankets and two pillows. Why was that? It had been an almost subconscious decision, and Black Stache couldn't think of a logical reason behind it- had he planned to stay here? He was tired, so perhaps it was a slip-up. But now that he was here, with another blanket and pillow, why not sleep here? The bench was uncomfortable, sure, but his bed was all the way on the other side of the ship...and something else that he couldn't place was pushing him to stay. So he kicked off his boots, laid out the blanket and pillow, and slipped underneath the woolen cover. He looked at Nova sleeping, and that was the last thing he saw before he too slipped into a confused and thoughtful dreamland.


	5. 5

When he woke up the next morning, Black Stache was almost as surprised with himself as Nova had been when she too had woken up to learn that he had slept in her room.

When Nova had gotten up that morning, it was all she could do not to cry out in surprise. Memories of last night came flooding back to her, and she remembered his close proximity and the confusion she felt. Nova thought that she must be hallucinating- surely the exhaustion and overwhelmedeness had combined to make it so that she was seeing him in her room, but she knew there was no way. She was so exhausted by her thoughts that she shut them out completely and went back to sleep.

Black Stache woke up an hour later, and Nova was still asleep. Of course, he had no idea that she'd woken up. Quickly as he could, Black Stache stood up and gathered the blanket and the pillow, wishing to leave no trace behind. He took only a moment to adjust his hair, not wishing to have the crew see him looking even slightly disheveled. He started to leave, and was nearly to the door when he tripped over the corner of the blanket that surrounded Nova, and the pillow and blanket flew from his hands as he fell, and Black Stache found himself sprawled out on top of Nova.

Before he could push himself up and make a getaway, Nova woke with a start.

"What are you doing?!" She asked, her voice ridden with rasp caused by a night of deep sleep. Her already big brown eyes widened as she realized how close they were; his full weight was on top of her and Black Stache's body was pressed against Nova's. Strangely though, he made no effort to get up. Nova tried to push him up, and when that didn't work, she tried to shimmy her way out from under him. But Black Stache didn't budge, and Nova began to shake and panic.

"I fell." He told her monotonously, failing to avoid eye contact. Nova noticed his arms rested right by her head, his fingertips just brushed her neck. Their height was the same, but the way he had fallen left Black Stache slightly above her head so that he was looking down and she was looking up.

"Did you sleep in here last night?" She asked straightforwardly, her eyes darting between his face and his body on top of hers.

"Yes. I was tired, and I had an extra pillow and blanket and didn't feel like walking all the way back to my room."

"Please, get off!" She said finally, her voice cracking and so wracked with fright that it was nearly inaudible.

Black Stache finally pushed himself up off of her and stood up. Nova immediately found that she somewhat missed the feeling that was present when he had been on top of her or treating her wounds; when he was close to her, but she was greatly relieved that the fear he brought to her was gone. She finally let out the breath she had been holding out of her slight terror.

"Well...thanks, for fixing my cuts...even if you did inflict them." She said quietly. Black Stache only nodded in response.

"Well, I must be off." Black Stache said, regaining his composure. "The crew will be wondering where I am, and they can't lead themselves, or else this ship would be run up among Skull Rock within the hour. Goodbye."

That was quite possibly the most awkward conversation he'd ever had.

Black Stache met up with Smee and resumed his usual routine of dictating the crew. He immersed himself in his duties as captain, and in the slightly rough sea and dark gloomy skies that he loved so much. Soon Nova ceased to grasp his immediate thoughts, but the whole day she was there in the back of his mind. Black Stache was (for once) immensely grateful for his incompetent crew, for they provided an excellent distraction. For hours on end he didn't care all that much about whether or not Peter was trying to help Nova escape, or what she was doing down in her cell or how she was feeling.

There was one problem, however. Black Stache had heard Smee talking with another crew member about rumors circulating. The rumors just so happened to include him and a certain prisoner, and no matter what the truth was, it was important to Black Stache that he diminished these rumors as quickly as possible. Yet as the gossip pushed Nova to the front of his mind, Black Stache quickly tried to supress those thoughts.

He was focused on his crew and The Wasp, and nothing else.

That is, until there was a loud crack of thunder that rang out through the rapidly darkening skies.

Rain began to fall, so slowly at first that nobody thought anything of it. But soon the sheets of rain became thicker and increased their speed, falling onto the deck like bullets that someone had loaded into a machine gun. Pirates ran for cover; the deck of the ship was chaotic. Things were bad, but they got worse when the prisoners began to shout and the pirates realized that the bottom of the ship was quickly taking on water. The Wasp was soon to mimic the fate of The Neverland, the ship that had sunken during the play that Nova's school performed. Black Stache shouted orders at the top of his lungs.

"Dive over the ship or you face certain death! Those of you who choose to flee the ship can swim to Skull Rock and there you are to wait for me!" He yelled, fighting to be heard over the rolling thunder and the frantically screaming crew.

The ship sank lower and lower by the second. The deck was nearly deserted and those who remained were in the process of following those who had jumped. Black Stache, satisfied with the amount of his crew that he had gotten to safety, readied himself to take the leap overboard. Until the prisoners' screams became louder, and though there were only a few, the screams rang in his ears. One prisoner in particular came to mind.

"Nova!"

Black Stache blanched and immediately ran down the stairs to the cells. Her cell was farthest down the corridor, and he ran through the rising water as quickly as he could to get there. He passed the few prisoners who were yelling and some crying or shouting profanities at Black Stache as he passed. But those were rats who had wronged him or others, rats who deserved this fate. He came for one person and one person only, and that was Nova.

He finally reached her room, and the water was up to his waist. He fumbled around for the keys on his belt; the seconds that it took to retrieve them felt like hours that passed in cruciating slow motion. He shoved the key into the lock with such force that it nearly broke, and turned it. Stache threw open the door and immediately spotted Nova, who looked frantic and had tears of terror streaming down her face, but was not screaming.

"Nova, the ship is sinking, we have to go!" Black Stache ordered, holding out his hand for her to take. She eyed his hand and didn't take it, but she followed him. Only then did he realize what he had done, holding out his hand. That was so uncharacteristic, and he didn't blame her for not taking his hand.

The two ran up to the deck and ran overboard without hesitation. The water was rough, and as soon as they hit the water, it felt like they were being pulled under with such force that every time they were submerged the two held little home of resurfacing again. They fought for minutes, but to them it felt like hours.

Until finally, unheard over the harsh sounds of the storm, a faint twinkling light that had the sound of soft bells approached. It was Tinkerbell- Peter, Prentiss, and Ted had come to help them.

They only hoped that they weren't too late.


	6. 6

Peter shielded his eyes from the rain, desperately searching for Nova. But he couldn't see a thing, and time was running out to find her.

"I can't see her!" He cried in panic. "I can't see anything!"

Suddenly, Tinkerbell darted off and flew frantically in circles; she was signalling to Peter that Nova was there. Peter was instantly relieved, for he could easily see Tinkerbell's glowing light against the darkness that grabbed hold of the sea and sky. He flew to her without hesitation and plunged into the water, stretching his limbs and reaching out in every direction he could. Finally, he grasped someone's hand and pulled them up.

"Black Stache!" Peter yelled. He immediately let go, but Ted and Prentiss dove down and lifted the unconcious pirate out of the water. Peter went back under and soon came up with Nova, unconcious as well. "Tinkerbell, help me!" Tinkerbell doused Nova and Black Stache both in the fairydust and they were then easier for Peter, Prentiss, and Ted to lift.

They flew home at maximum speed, delayed only because of the thick sheets of rain and powerful winds that blew them in all directions. Finally, though, they made it back to the boys hideout.

Peter laid Nova down by the fire and checked her pulse as Prentiss and Ted did the same with Black Stache. Peter leaned back in relief as her pulse was evident and her breating, although shallow, seemed normal enough. He wiped his face with his green hat and caught his breath.

Prentiss and Ted shook hands, satisfied with their work at saving a life. But Peter, less than thrilled, suddenly turned on the two with fire in his eyes.

"What did you have to go and do that for?!" He yelled, motioning angrily to Black Stache sprawled out near the fire. "He's our enemy, a villain, and the reason Nova almost drowned tonight!" Prentiss stood immediately, fed up with Peter's anger.

"You may have been willing to let your anger get someone else killed tonight Peter, but we weren't!" Ted leapt up and held his ground next to Prentiss with his arms crossed in defiance.

"Yeah!" Ted agreed.

"If you were okay with letting him die out there just because of your temper, how much better does that make you than him? Huh, Peter? You'd be one in the same!"

The words hit Peter like a bullet, and they reverberated around in his head in an almost haunting manner.

One in the same...

 _"You'd be one in the same!"_

 _You'd...be...the same..._

"NO!"

Peter stormed off to his room and slammed the door behind him. Prentiss rolled his eyes in exasperation and waved Peter off, having no tolerance left for his temper.

"Don't worry about him, Prentiss, he's just mad. Hey, let's get some food or something!" Ted, unaffected by Peter's outburst, immediately ran to the cupboard and began sifting through it. Prentiss shook his head as a small smile found its way to his lips at Ted's innocence, which provided a nice change from the ever-bitter Peter. Suddenly, both boys' attention was drawn to the the two that lay by the fire as they heard quiet wheezing, which soon gave way to more audible sputtering and coughing. They ran to the fire and discovered it was a now conscious Black Stache.

Stache rolled onto his side and emptied his stomach of water as he coughed it all up. He laid back in exhaustion, and Prentiss and Ted could tell by his facial expressions that everything was slowly coming back to him.

"Where am I?" He croaked, his speech prompting more coughing. Ted ran to get him some water, which Black Stache took, despite who he was recieving it from.

"There was a storm. You were about to drown, until we saved you." Prentiss said monotonously, not expecting a 'thank you' of any kind, but wishing to enforce the fact that without them, Black Stache would be dead.

Black Stache only nodded. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he sat up instantly, making him cough once more as he fought to get words out.

"Nova, where's Nova?" He finally said. Prentiss raised an eyebrow in suspicion; why did he care where Nova was? Maybe he still suspected she knew something about Starstuff. Ted pointed behind Black Stache at Nova who had been laying with her head just by Black Stache's, yet he had failed to notice her upon waking.

"Peter and Tinkerbell saved her." Ted turned and waved to the tiny fairy, who jingled proudly.

"Why do you care?" Prentiss questioned.

"Care?" Black Stache was caught off guard. "I don't...I don't care! Black Stache cares about no one, you'd think you would know this by now!" Prentiss rolled his eyes, having no room for his attitude after Peter's outburst earlier.

"Listen, Black Sass, you may not have cared about anyone before, but you've never met a girl- a girl you possibly like- before." Black Stache tried to protest, but for once he couldn't find the words.

"Love is a lot like Starstuff." A girl's voice said. "It changes people, but with less regard of what they want to be." Prentiss and Ted whipped their heads around and shouted in delight at what they saw.

"MOLLY!" Prentiss and Ted ran to hug Molly, who had appeared with Aster by her side and had heard the whole conversation.

"Prentiss, Teddy, I've missed you!" Molly exclaimed, hugging the two boys.

"Hello, Aster." Prentiss said as he pulled away from Molly.

"Hello." Aster replied chipperly. "Molly and I got here as soon as we were called...although it seems as though our services are no longer needed." He finished, eyeing Black Stache and Nova still on the ground.

"Actually," Prentiss corrected him. "They may be needed now more than ever." Molly raised an eyebrow in question.

"What? Why?" Molly asked. "Where's Peter?" She looked around the room for the person she was secretly hoping to see the most, but panic began to rise within her when she couldn't spot him; she immediately began to assume the worst.

"Peter's fine, but he let his temper get the best of him." Prentiss explained.

"Again!" Ted added, before popping a spoonful of sticky pudding into his mouth and sighing contentedly at the taste.

Molly rolled her eyes and cursed under her breath at Peter. As much as she loved him, he definitely made problems a lot worse than they should be whenever they arose.

"And this girl, here-" Molly said, kneeling beside Nova. "Who's she?"

"She's the one Peter told you about." Prentiss informed Molly.

"What's happened?" She inquired, taken aback by the state of Nova and Black Stache in particular. In addition to Nova being unconcious and Black Stache being exhausted and practically hacking his lungs out in one minute intervals, both were soaked through with sea water and undoubtedly cold, regardless of their close proximity to the fireplace. Prentiss explained everything that happened, uninterrupted only with the exception of Black Stache's small outburst when Prentiss accused him of liking Nova. Molly let the story sink in and, despite the overwhelmedeness of the situation, she decided it was best to think of it as another great adventure. Granted, she hadn't been there for the adventure, but Prentiss's story, albeit short, was grand and very entertaining.

"I'd better go talk to Peter." Molly concluded, knocking on his door and proceeding to enter.

Prentiss, Ted, and Aster were all partaking in a conversation whilst Molly and Peter talked on their own in the other room. Black Stache kept uncharacteristically silent, but he couldn't help but not talk, for his mind was overcome with thoughts of Nova and the things Prentiss had said.

Perhaps he was right.


End file.
